Sen. John Cornyn spoke outside the first Sunday service held after the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He called the residents of the small town 'remarkable' for how they've dealt with the tragedy. (Nov. 12)
AP

People attending a vigil for the Texas church shooting victims said they were there to support their neighborsi in Sutherland Springs. One man also described his feelings since the shooting last Sunday as "emptyness and numbness." (Nov. 9)
AP

17-year-old Alison Gould of San Antonio showed up outside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs Wednesday to talk about her best friend, 16-year-old Haley Krueger, killed in Sunday's church shooting. (Nov. 8)
AP

Vice President Pence spoke at a memorial service for the victims killed at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday. A packed Floresville High School football stadium honored the victims with song, prayer. (Nov. 9)
AP

DEADLY TEXAS CHURCH SHOOTING STUNS SUTHERLAND SPRINGS COMMUNITY
Doctor: Emotional healing will take a long time | 1:06

Doctors at the small Connally Memorial Medical Center about 10 miles from Sutherland Springs said they have one patient remaining at the hospital. They said while the physical wounds will heal, many of the emotional wounds will take a lot longer. (Nov. 7)
AP

Vice President Pence is in Texas to meet with law enforcement, local heroes and families of the victims of Sunday's massacre at The First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. The shooting is being called the worst in Texas history. (Nov. 8)
AP

Vice President Pence said the blame for a Sunday massacre at a Texas church that left more than two dozen dead rests solely with the gunman and Air Force bureaucracy. He spoke on Wednesday outside the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. (Nov. 8)
AP

First responder Torie McCallum was on her way to the Texas church shooting when she realized through her phone dispatch it was the church her family attended. She would soon learn that her pregnant sister-in-law and three children were killed. (Nov. 8)
AP

Paul Brunner was among the first to respond to the tragic shooting deaths of more than two dozen people inside a rural Texas church on Sunday. The emergency medical chief described his team's efforts as a battlefield triage of sorts. (Nov. 8)
AP

17-year-old Alison Gould of San Antonio showed up outside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs Wednesday to talk about her best friend, 16-year-old Hailey Krueger, killed in Sunday's church shooting. (Nov. 8)
AP

The man who police say killed 26 people, including an unborn child, at a Sutherland Springs, Texas church had a string of run-ins with the law starting with charges of threatening superior officers int he military. (Nov. 8).
AP

Mark Collins, who formerly served as associate pastor at the church that saw Sunday's massacre, returned to Sutherland Springs to show support and comfort victims of the shooting that claimed 26 lives, and wounded many more. (Nov. 7)
AP

DEADLY TEXAS CHURCH SHOOTING STUNS SUTHERLAND SPRINGS COMMUNITY
Ryan: Texas shooter should not have gotten a gun | 1:24

Speaker Paul Ryan expressed frustration that the suspected gunman in Sunday's Texas church shooting was able to get a gun after being convicted of domestic abuse. Ryan said more needs to be done to enforce the "laws on the books." (Nov. 7)
AP

Speaking through tears, Stephen Willeford, the man some are calling a hero for engaging in a shootout with the Texas church gunman on Sunday, says he was afraid for his life but that he believes God gave him the skills needed to face the shooter. (Nov. 6)
AP

In chilling video, Bryan Holcombe can be seen leading his church family to a place of understanding after the Las Vegas shooting and just days before he and 25 of his parishioners were gunned down inside Sutherland Springs baptist church.
USA TODAY

DEADLY TEXAS CHURCH SHOOTING STUNS SUTHERLAND SPRINGS COMMUNITY
Texas town a community in mourning | 1:50

The small town of Sutherland Springs, Texas is reeling from a horrific mass shooting that left 26 people dead on Sunday at the First Baptist Church. Witnesses recall the terror and also remember a tight-knit community. (Nov. 6)
AP

Texas law enforcement authorities say the gunman who killed 26 members of a church on Sunday was shot three times, twice by a citizen. The gunman, officials said, had sustained shots to the leg and torso; a third shot was "self-inflicted." (Nov. 6)
AP

San Antonio Spurs forward Pau Gasol and head coach Gregg Popovich both addressed the shooting that took place in Sutherland Springs, Texas with Gasol saying that America's gun laws need to be addressed.
Time

Sherri Pomeroy, wife of Sutherland Spring's Pastor Frank Pomeroy, shared the memory of their 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, who died in the mass shooting in their family church that left 26 dead, many of them children.
USA TODAY

A man dressed in black and armed with an assault rifle opened fire inside a church in South Texas on Sunday, killing 26 and wounding at least 16 others in what the governor called the deadliest mass shooting in the state's history. (Nov. 5)
AP

A teary-eyed Gov. Greg Abbott asks parents to give their kids a "big hug" in his first press conference since the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs shooting where at least 26 people were killed.
USA TODAY

Pastors of churches around Sutherland Springs, Texas described the moments after they were notified there had been a shooting at a church in town. More than 20 people were killed when a gunman opened fire during a service on Sunday. (Nov. 11)
AP

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — A man dressed in black tactical-style gear and armed with an assault rifle opened fire inside a church in a small South Texas community on Sunday, killing 25 people and wounding at least 16 others.

The dead ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old. Among those killed was a pregnant woman whose unborn baby also died.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the attack is the deadliest mass shooting in the state's history. According to officials, 23 of the people found dead in a shooting at a Baptist church were found inside the building, two others were outside and one person was transported but died later.

The gunman was identified as Devin Kelley, 26, of nearby Comal County, Texas, two law enforcement officials said Sunday. The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly, said it was immediately unclear whether the gunman took his own life or was fatally shot by law enforcement officials.

Federal law enforcement swarmed the small community 30 miles southeast of San Antonio after the attack to offer assistance, including ATF investigators and members of the FBI's evidence collection team.

Sutherland Springs is 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. According to the U.S. census, the town had a population of roughly 700 in 2015.

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Chairs with roses mark where victims where found in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. A memorial was created in the sanctuary of the church and opened to the public on Nov. 5, 2017, one week after the attack.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWO

Rachel Vasquez places flowers along the fence surrounding First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017. One week earlier 25 people and an unborn child were killed in a mass shooting at the First Baptist Church.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Nearly 300 people congregated in a makeshift church for a closed Sunday service one week after the mass shooting in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017.
R. Tomas Gonzalez, EPA-EFE

Stephen Hope carries a cross in the rain outside the tent near the Sutherland Springs ball park where the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs held their first service one week after the shooting that left 25 people and an unborn child dead.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-TX, and his wife Sandy Cornyn leave their condolences for the victims of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs' First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017.
R. Tomas Gonzalez, EPA-EFE

Sam, bottom, and Morgan Stinson, Ohio residents who were vacationing in Texas, leave their condolences for the 26 people who died after a mass shooting in Sutherland Springs' First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017.
R. Tomas Gonzalez, EPA-EFE

San Antonio resident, Rey Flores kneels near a cross left for a memorial for the people who died after a mass shooting in Sutherland Springs' First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017.
R. Tomas Gonzalez, EPA-EFE

A tarp is wrapped around the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs as law enforcement officials wrap up their investigation into the shooting on Nov. 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Charlene Uhl, right, is comforted as she views a cross with the name and picture of her 16-year-old daughter, Haley Krueger, at a memorial where 26 crosses were placed to honor the 26 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on November 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Police remove a road block as they begin to wrap up their investigation of the shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Barbara Solano, center, places flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the First Baptist Church shooting on Nov. 9, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A man opened fire inside the church in the small South Texas community on Sunday, killing more than two dozen and injuring others.
David J. Phillip, AP

A police officer nails a Texas Highway Patrol patch to a power pole at a memorial to the 26 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Joshua John of Roanoke, Virginia prays at a memorial where 26 crosses were placed to honor the 26 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Vice President Of The United States Mike Pence speaks during a vigil for the Sutherland Springs church shooting of victims at the Floresville high school football field on Nov. 8, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Vice President Of The United States Mike Pence speaks during a vigil for the Sutherland Springs church shooting of victims at the Floresville high school football field on Nov. 8, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Vice President Mike Pence hugs Evelyn Holcombe at Florseville High School during a stop on Nov. 8, 2017, in Floresville, Texas. A man opened fire inside a church in Sutherland Springs on Sunday, killing and wounding many; Holcombe was in the church during the shooting but escaped.
Eric Gay, AP

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, in wheelchair, receives a hug from Karen Pence, as he and wife, Cecilia Abbott, welcome Vice President Mike Pence on Nov. 8, 2017, in San Antonio. Pence traveled to Texas to visit victims of the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting at a local hospital, as well as visit with the families of the victims and participate in a prayer vigil.
Eric Gay, AP

Joshua John Fitch carries a cross past the First Baptist Church which was the scene of the mass shooting that killed 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 8, 2017.
Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images

Alison Gould ,17 talks about her 16-year-old friend, Haley Krueger, who was killed in the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Gould left a stuffed animal at the makeshift memorial near the scene on Nov. 8, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times, via USA TODAY NETWORK

Community members bow their head to pray during a prayer vigil for the victims of the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting at Floresville high school stadium on Nov. 7, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Flags fly at half staff during a memorial service for victims of the mass shooting that killed 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas, at the La Vernia High School on Nov. 7, 2017.
Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images

A women wipes way tears during a prayer vigil for the victims of the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting at Floresville high school stadium on Nov. 7, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Derrick Bernaden of San Antonio waves burning sage over the 26 crosses honoring those who died in the First Baptist Church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 7, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin, speaks during a press conference near the scene of the shooting at the First Baptist Church Sutherland Springs, TX.
Courtney Sacco, USA TODAY NETWORK

Members of the Sutherland Springs community hold up their cellphones Monday night during a prayer vigil to honor the 26 who where killed in the First Baptist Church shooting, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today N

Steven Willeford, who has been hailed as a hero for helping to bring down the shooter is embraced by Sutherland Springs community members during a prayer vigil to honor the 26 who where killed in the First Baptist Church shooting, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Flowers lay at the road block leading to the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs the day after a shooting that multiple people dead, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Johnnie Langendorff speaks to reporters about the mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 6, 2017. Langendorff says he and another man chased down the gunman after he fled the church.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Police officials work in front of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs the day after a mass shooting that left 26 dead, Nov. 6, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, TX.
Casey Jackson, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

A Texas state trooper stands infront of a closed road leading to First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs the day after a shooting that left many dead, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Mona Rodriguez holds her 12-year-old son, J. Anthony Hernandez, during a candlelight vigil held for the victims of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017.
Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackett speaks to the media outside the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs the day after a shooting that left 26 dead, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Texas state troopers stand infant of the closed road leading to First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs the day after a shooting that left 26 daed, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA TODAY Network

Community members gather for a vigil across the street from the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs where 26 people where killed in shooting Nov. 5, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Community members attend a vigil for the victims of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017.
Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Community members gather for a vigil across the street from the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where 26 people where killed in shooting on Nov. 5, 2017.
Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference following a shooting that left 26 dead at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017.
Courtney Sacco/Corpus ChristiCaller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

A couple comfort each other at a community center in Sutherland Springs, Texas, near the scene of a mass shooting at the First Baptist Church on Nov. 5, 2017.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Carrie Matula embraces a woman after a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017. Matula said she heard the shooting from the gas station where she works a block away.
Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Law enforcement officials stand next to a covered body at the scene of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017.
Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

A gunman, and a unknown motive

Devin P. Kelley was previously in the Air Force and served in logistics at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge, according to Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokeswoman.

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said records show that Kelley served in Logistics Readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge. The date of his discharge and the circumstances under which he left the service were not immediately available.

The gunman crossed the street and started firing a Ruger AR rifle at the church, said Freeman Martin, a regional director of the Texas Department of Safety, then continued firing after entering the white wood-frame building, where an 11 a.m. service was scheduled. As he left, he was confronted by an armed resident who chased him. A short time later, the suspect was found dead in his vehicle at the county line, Martin said.

Several weapons were found inside the vehicle and Martin said it was unclear if the attacker died of a self-inflicted wound or if he was shot by the resident who confronted him. He said investigators weren't ready to discuss a possible motive for the attack.

The official said the gunman fled in a vehicle after the attack and was killed, either by a self-inflicted wound or during a confrontation with police.Pastor's daughter among those killed

Among those killed was the 14-year-old daughter of the church's pastor, Frank Pomeroy, and his wife, Sherri. Sherri Pomeroy wrote in a text message to the AP that she and her husband were out of town in two different states when the attack occurred.

"We lost our 14-year-old daughter today and many friends," she wrote. "Neither of us have made it back into town yet to personally see the devastation. I am at the Charlotte airport trying to get home as soon as I can."

The wounded were taken to hospitals. Video on KSAT television showed first responders taking a stretcher from the church to a waiting AirLife helicopter. Some victims were taken by medical helicopter to the Brooke Army Medical Center, the station said.

Megan Posey, a spokeswoman for Connally Memorial Medical Center, which is in Floresville and about 10 miles from the church, said "multiple" victims were being treated for gunshot wounds. She declined to give a specific number but said it was less than a dozen.

Alena Berlanga, a Floresville resident who was monitoring the chaos on a police scanner and in Facebook community groups, said everyone knows everyone in the sparsely populated county.

A teary-eyed Gov. Greg Abbott asks parents to give their kids a "big hug" in his first press conference since the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs shooting where at least 26 people were killed.
USA TODAY

'Somebody went in a started shooting'

Regina Rodriguez arrived at the church a couple of hours after the shooting and walked up to the police barricade. She hugged a person she was with. She had been at an amusement park with her children when she heard of the shooting.

She said her father, 51-year-old Richard Rodriguez, attends the church every Sunday, and she hadn't been able to reach him. She said she feared the worst.

Nick Uhlig, 34, is a church member who didn't go Sunday morning because he was out late Saturday night. He said his cousins were at the church and that his family was told at least one of them, a woman with three children and pregnant with another, is among the dead. He said he hadn't heard specific news about the other.

"We just gathered to bury their grandfather on Thursday," he said. "This is the only church here. We have Bible study, men's Bible study, vacation Bible school."

"Somebody went in and started shooting," he said, shaking his head and taking a long drag of his cigarette.

President Donald Trump tweeted from Japan, where is his on an Asian trip, that he was monitoring the situation following the shooting.

May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. The FBI & law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan.

"We're shocked. Shocked and dismayed," said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Laredo Democrat whose district includes Sutherland Springs, a rural community known for its peanut festival, which was held last month. "It's especially shocking when it's such a small, serene area. These rural areas, they are so beautiful and so loving."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the shooting an "evil act," and promised "more details" from the state's Department of Public Safety soon.

Our prayers are with all who were harmed by this evil act. Our thanks to law enforcement for their response. More details from DPS soon. https://t.co/KMCRmOPkiM

Sutherland Springs is in a rural area where communities are small and tight-knit. The area is known for its annual peanut festival in Floresville, which was most recently held last month.

"We're shocked. Shocked and dismayed," said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Laredo Democrat whose district includes Sutherland Springs. "It's especially shocking when it's such a small, serene area. These rural areas, they are so beautiful and so loving."

Zaffirini said she had called several county and local officials but not been able to get through and didn't have any firm details.

CLOSE

A member of First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs says on a normal Sunday, there are 40 parishioners. A gunman killed at least 20 of them.
USA TODAY

'We are pulling together as a community'

The church is a white, wood-framed building with a double-door at the entrance and a Texas flag on a pole at the front area. A morning worship service was scheduled for 11 a.m. The first news reports of the shooting were between noon and 12:30 p.m.

The church has posted videos of its Sunday services on a YouTube channel, raising the possibility that the shooting was captured on video.

In the most recent service, posted Oct. 29, Frank Pomeroy parked a motorcycle in front of his lectern and used it as a metaphor in his sermon for having faith in forces that can't be seen, whether it be gravity or God.

"I don't look at the moment, I look at where I'm going and look at what's out there ahead of me," Pomeroy said. "I'm choosing to trust in the centripetal forces and the things of God he's put around me."

Paul Buford, pastor of nearby River Oaks Church, said his service was underway when first responders in his congregation were called to the scene. He said that some members of the community had "confirmed information" about family members and friends. Buford declined to provide any details.

"We are pulling together as a community," Buford said. "We are holding up as best we can."